Stringed musical instrument



g- 9, 1930. GD. HAMBRECHT ,574

V snnlssn IUSICAL ms'rnulml'r Filed Feb. 8, 1928 A TTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 19, 1930 xamlner PATENT OFFICE GEORGE D. HAMBRECHT, 0FCANAJ'OHARIE, NEW YORK STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Application filedFebruary 8, 1928. Serial No. 252,830.

The invention relates to a bow-played violin type, stringed instrument,which, in order to secure its permanent tone, does not require longaging, but which, after being played but a short time assumes a tonethat is equal and in most cases superior to the tone of the standardform of violin which has been aged for a long time. The superior tone ofan aged violin of the standard type is generally attributed to molecularor other changes in the grain of the wood, due largely to the strain putupon it by the tension of the strings, and it is a matter of commonknowledge that when the strings are released, the tone deteriorates andis not re-established until some time after the string tension isre-applied.

It is my belief that the improved tone of my instrument is due to theuse of a substantially single vibrating air column as opposed to the twoair columns of the standard violin, which two air columns must bebrought into resonance before a satisfactory tone is obtained. Thequalities of the enclosing sides and the finish of my instrument are notbelieved to be the important factors that they are in the standard typeof violin.

It is well-known that in the standard tvpe of violin the makerfrequently is skillful enough to doctor the tone; that is. if thetoneis'harsh, his experience in manufacturing violins will enable him tosandpaper a little 'oif here or there, make a little ditlerentapplication of varnish. or something of the kind which undoubtedlychanges the vibration of one part of the instrument as compared to theother, throwing the two halves ing qualities with but little necessityfor attention to be paid to the quality of the material entering intoits construction or the aging which is so requisite in the standardizedform of violin. This object is secured in a stringed instrument made inaccordance with the drawings attached hereto.

The design of the standard violin is too well-known to requiredescription here, and it is only necessary to state that theseinstruments are ordinarily substantially symmetrical; that is, the halfabove the bridge is substantially the same as the half below the bridge,the sound holes being practically in the center of the two sections. Thetone of this type of instrument comes from the two substantially equalair spaces, the one having more or less of an amplifying effect upon theother, but owing to the utter impossibility of making the two halvesexactlv similar, there is never the possibility of making these two airspaces so that they are in exact vibration so far as theirtone-stimulating properties are concerned.

It is also well-known that practically every violin of the standard typeis an individuality, some violins of the same shape and size as othershaving far superior tone-producing qualities. Furthermore, it is a factthat great attention must be paid to the selection of the materialsentering into these violins, as the perfection of such materialdetermines to a large extent the quality of the tone.

An experience of nearly fifty years in making musical instruments (andespecially violins, some of which were good and others not so good) hasled me to produce a type of violin in which I am able without the mostcareful selection of the material and the greatest care in design andmanufacture, to yet produce an unusually full, ringing, voicelike,sweet, rich tone, which can be duplicated without the excessive care andexpert workmanship that is required to obtain a good tone in thestandard form of violin.

It is a well-known fact that as the enclosure becomes larger theresonance becomes increased. This may be crudely illustrated by thequality of tone that is secured by noising into a small opening of alarge barrel, and

hearingthe sweet, mellow, ringing sound produced, this qualitydiminishing and becoming inferior as the volume of the enclosure becomesless and less.

Repeated trials in the attempt to produce the proportions that wouldeffect similar ringing, full, clear tones made it apparent that it wasdesirable to substitute one air space as large as possible, incontra-distinction to the standard well-accepted model with its twosubstantially similar air spaces.

In the ordinary violin there is a post about one-fourth inch back of thebridge, supporting the arch, and making a pressure on the wood fibres atthe head of the post greater than the pressure on the wood fibres in thetailpiece end. This difference in pressure on the two sides of thebridge naturally results in a difference in strength and quality ofvibration. If the sound post is taken out entirely from the standardviolin, the pressure on the top caused by the tension of the stringsmufiles the fibres in the wooden top and the tone is dead. Likewise. ifthe sound post is placed ahead of the bridge, the two sections of thetop are not under the same tension, and so vibrate dilferently.

The fact that a single vibrating air chamber is largely responsible forthe tone has been further evidenced by the construction of a number ofthese violutes, each made with a different quality of wood than theothers, ranging from freshly cut to well-aged good, and from soft woodto hard wood. In every case, the completed instrument produces theringing, mellow, voice-like tone. and while it must not be understoodthat all kinds and qualities of wood are equally satisfactory for theconstruction of these violutes, yet it is a fact that the quality andnature of the wood entering into their construction is a" minorconsideration which is further evidence of the fact that the tonequality is largely dependent upon the single vibrating air column.

Through the repeated trials mentioned above,:- I have produced a newinstrument, utilizing the new princple of substantially one largevibrating air volume, thereby obtaining a full, sweet, ringing,voice-like tone of great volume-yet mellow. It is bowed and fingered thesame as the standard form of violin. and it happens that on account ofthe restricted upper end it can be played in the upper registers withconsiderably greater ease than the standard form.

The tone of this instrument so resembles that of a flute that I havegive it the name of violute, a combination of the two words violin andflute.

The description of the instrument is as follows Figure 1 is the frontview, and Figure 2 is the side view of this instrument.

The hollow body portion, F is similar to the lower section of thestandard form of violin, but of considerably larger dimensions, so thatin fact the air volume contained in the section F below the bridge B ispossibly fifty per cent greater than the air volume of a correspondingviolin of standard type.

correspondingly, the upper portion E is very much reduced in width; infact, it is made as small as possible, consistent with appearance andstrength. the idea being to reduce the air volume above the bridge to assmall a proportion as possible consistent with strength and appearance.

The neck portion A is provided with the usual pegs P for stringadjustment. The fingerboard D and the strings C, including the usualtailpiece T and bridge B are also included.

The interior portion of this violute is carefully proportioned so as toavoid square corners on the inside that might affect the tone. The outerlines of this instrument are made carefully rounded or oval in shape,and this construction carried into the interior, as the shape of theselines aifects to a large extent the quality of the tone.

The sound holes. G, H, are symmetrically positioned with reference tothe bridge, and made of considerable width. but much shorter than theusual, accepted form, thereby enclosing a larger volume of vibratingair, and offering as little resistance as possible to the issuance ofthe sound waves from the intericr.

For a fuller understanding of the invention and its relation to thestandard violin, reference may be had to the attached print showing theviolute superposed upon a standard violin. The description which followshas reference to the print, and is submitted for the purpose ofcontrasting the violute with the standard instrument.

The improved qualities of my violute are due to the several featuresthat make the instrument a complete unit. These comprise the shape,structure, the practically single vibrating air space, and the short fholes, which all combined produce an effect entirely different from thatsecured from the standard violin type of instrument. My violute wouldnot have the good qualities of tone and volume if the air spaces werereversed; that is. having the large air space on the fingerboard end ofthe instrument with the sound post setting back of the bridge, in whichposition it is placed in the standard violin type.

Referring to the f holes of my violute as compared with the f holes of aviolin, it is readily seen that if these f holes were both made widerand wider (not longer) until the openings almost meet, the air space onthe violute remains almost intact, and yet owing to the much longer fholes and the narrow tailpiece end of the standard violin, there ispractically no air space left; that is, the standea MUSES.

ard violin in that case would be too open to produce any appreciabletone. In order to make the f holes on my violute shorter, it wasnecessary to widen the outer lines of the instrument. Qtherwise the endsof the f holes would have approached too near, or indeed over the edgeof the rim (see Drawing A). The f holes on a standard violin cannot bemade shorter unless the standard outlines are entirely reconstructed,because the outer edge of the f holes would come too near or over theedge of the rim.

\Vhen a violin or violute is played the v1- bration is strongest at thefoot of the bridge (see Drawing D). When the vibration is released inthe top of an instrument, it travels instantly in all directions, likewaves receding from a spot in the water Where a stone has been dropped,becomin weaker and weaker the farther they go. The spaces directly belowthe f holes on both violin and violute are the spaces that vibrateeasiest (see Drawing C). Because of the shortened f holes, the distancefrom the foot of the bridge where the vibration is strongest to thespace on the instrument that vibrates easiest is much shorter on myviolute than on a violin. This shorter distance naturally allows thevibration to be stronger when it reaches this space than it can be whenit reaches the same space on a violin. (See drawing.) This strongervibration loosens the wood fibres quicker and, therefore, developes myviolute faster than a violin can be developed.

This stronger vibration also causes a stronger air vibration inside ofthe instrument, therefore giving the tone of my violute greater carryingpower.

Because of this stronger vibration developing the violute faster than aviolin can be developed, itis not important to be so choice of the woodused in its making.

The shortened f holes allow a longer air space from the end of the fholes to the lower edge of the instrument (see Drawings A to D), On aregular violin this distance is 4% inches, and on the violute it is 5inches. Being longer and wider, the air space is greater and naturallycan produce a much more mellow tone than can be produced in a violin.

The distance from the end of the f holes to the lower edge of a violinbeing shorter than that of a violute, makes the tone of the violinhigher pitched and less mellow.

A practical embodiment of the invention has been described in detail forthe purpose of illustration, but it will be understood that the spiritof the invention will not be limited by such details.

The term violute is used as descriptive of the present device for thereason that the tone of the instrument resembles to a considerabledegree the sweet, mellow tones of the mmlner flute, the instrumentitself being of the violin type, though differing materially from thestandard violin. The name violute is a contraction of the words violinand flute. The only reason which can be given as to why the tone of theinstrument resembles that of a flute is the basic principle of theviolute, namely, the one large vibrating air space.

\Vhat I claim is 1. A bow-played stringed musical instrument of theviolin type including a hollow wooden body enclosing an air space, theusual bridge, sound box, strings, and pegs for string adjustment, inwhich the body is so shaped that the enclosed volume below the bridgeand in which the body encloses a single air column which vibrates as awhole when the instrument is bowed, is several times larger than thespace above the bridge.

2. A bow-played stringed musical instrument of the violin type includinga hollow wooden body enclosing an air space, the usual bridge, soundbox, strings, and pegs for string adjustment, in which the body belowthe bridge is several times larger than the space above the bridge andin which the outlines of the body gradually and continuously convergeupwardly from a position of maximum width a short distance below thebridge to the upper end of the body above the bridge, there being nowidening out of the body above the bridge, whereby a single column ofair is enclosed within the body, which vibrates as a whole when theinstrument is bowed.

3. A bow-played stringed musical instrument of the violin type includinga hollow wooden body enclosing an air space, the usual bridge, soundbox, strings, and pegs for string adjustment, in which the body is soshaped that the space below the bridge is several times larger than thespace above the bridge and in which the body encloses a single aircolumn which vibrates as a whole when the instrument is bowed, saidinstrument having sound holes, symmetrically positioned with referenceto the bridge, said sound holes being of considerable width, but muchshorter than in the ordinary form. thereby enclosing a large volume ofvibrating air, and ofiering little resistance to the issuance of soundwaves from the interior.

4. A bow-played stringed musical instrument of the violin type havingstrings, a brid e, a fingerboard and a tailpiece, and a woo en bodyenclosing a single column of air, said body being so shaped that thespace beyond the bridge at the tailpiece end is several times largerthan the space beyond the bridge at the fingerboard end, the widestportion of the instrument being just below the bridge at the tailpieceend and the body gradually and continuously narrowing from said widestportion to the fingerboard end of the instrument, and rapidly andcontinuously narrows toward the tailpiece end of the instrument, wherebya single vibrating column of air is included in the instrument when thestrings are bowed.

5. A bow-played stringed musical instrument of the violin type, havingthe usual bridge, sound box, tail piece, end pin, strings and pegs forstring adjustment, the tail piece being fastened to the end pin in themanner customary in violin type instruments, and having a hollow Woodenbody enclosing an air space, said body below the bridge being severaltimes larger than the space above the bridge, and the outlines of thebody converging gradually and continuously upwardly from a position ofmaximum width a short distance below the bridge to the upper end of thebody above the bridge, and converging sharply and continuouslydownwardly from the position of maximum width, whereby a single columnof air is enclosed within the body, which column vibrates as a wholewhen the instrument is bowed.

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature.

GEORGE D. HAMBRECHT.

